Some Gustav evacuees find themselves yearning for their own beds

More than 80 people are staying at Hope Presbyterian Church in Cordova, where volunteer Jennifer Quigley comforts Jhanell Sylvester, who was not feeling well Tuesday. The church is equipped to host as many as 150 evacuees.

More than 80 people are staying at Hope Presbyterian Church in Cordova, where volunteer Jennifer Quigley comforts Jhanell Sylvester, who was not feeling well Tuesday. The church is equipped to host as many as 150 evacuees.

Karen Pulfer Focht/The Commercial Appeal

As with all things, the Memphis shelters housing Hurricane Gustav evacuees are not created equally.

They are intended to be a place to escape the storm, but they're as different as cold showers are to hot meals, televisions, pool tables and crossword puzzles.

"It's OK, but it ain't no place like home," said Glenda Stewart, who, with her daughter, Dannell Ward, came by bus from St. John Parish, La., to the Gaisman Community Center on Macon Road.

The people are nice, Stewart said, but by Tuesday she was ready to sleep in her own bed.

The biggest problem is not knowing what's going on, said Noah White, who came to Memphis on a train.

The evacuees don't know when they can return home or what's happening in New Orleans.

White thinks that because government officials in Louisiana know where the residents were sent, someone from the state should be visiting the shelters and giving them information.

"Someone should come and talk to us," White said.

Meanwhile, there are other problems.

The meals have been cold at Gaisman, either cereal or cold cuts, according to Edward Parks of New Orleans.

And they're bored.

"We appreciate what people are doing for us, but we ain't got nothing to do," Parks said.

The shelter did have donated Sudoku and crossword puzzle books, but no cable television.

And there are no hot showers, White pointed out.

There are about 3,000 people in city shelters, and keeping so many people comfortable is a challenge, said Steve Shular, spokesman for the Memphis and Shelby County Emergency Management Agency.

The agency doesn't have enough portable shower units to meet the need, he said. And some of the city's community centers are newer and nicer than others.

"At the same time, people need to understand we're going to provide them as comfortable an environment as possible. And a shelter is not home," Shular said.

The centers are housing those who were evacuated on the free buses and trains. But many who "self-evacuated" have been directed to area churches.

Since leaving New Orleans on Saturday with 21 relatives in five vehicles, Paul Walker and his family have spent between $600 and $700, including a night in a hotel.

The police directed them to Hope Presbyterian.

"We thank God for them," Walker said.

They've enjoyed the facilities there, the basketball court and outdoor seating area, and his family has been given its own separate sleeping area.

At World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church, the evacuees are enjoying the use of a swimming pool, bowling alley, televisions, arcade games and pool tables.

"I stayed for (Hurricane) Katrina, but I couldn't do that again," said Collette McGhee, a restaurant cook from New Orleans. "I wasn't flooded, but my apartment building looked like Beirut when it got finished."

Her son lives in Memphis near the church and sent her there with six other relatives.

Local officials opened two more shelters for evacuees from Hurricane Gustav on Tuesday night, bringing the local total to 22 facilities.

The two were opened in Memphis Park Services community centers, and are open to anyone, not just those evacuated by FEMA.

"In response to the growing need for shelter, we opened two additional shelters at community centers tonight," spokesman Steve Shular said. "We had 100 or so calls this evening from evacuees that had nowhere to go. Hotel rooms were full."

It's likely that some of the new evacuees were previously housed in hotels and ran short of money, Shular said.